Black women on television/Mulheres negras na televisão

Stereotypes of black women are common in Western television and film. In America, black women have been portrayed as Sapphires, Jezebels and Mammies. The Sapphire is angry, loud, aggressive and tough. The Jezebel is sexy, lewd, promiscuous and will use her sexuality as an advantage. The Mammy or Aunt Jemima is usually the asexual, fat, submissive and loyal nurturer. On Brazilian television, black women are usually portrayed as the Black Mother, similar to the Mammy or Aunt Jemina, while the sexy mulatta is somewhat similar to the Jezebel. Although the angry black woman is not a common stereotype in Brazilian film and television, the image appears occasionally and studies show that angry black women are usually thought to have darker skin. In Brazil, mulattas are thought to know their place. 2008 saw the end of the television show “Girlfriends” featuring four black women as the main characters. 2008 also saw the presence of several black actors, including four black women, on the Brazilian soap opera “Duas Caras”. These shows were not free of stereotypes, but some would argue that these shows still represented an advance for black women on television in their respective markets. The women of “Girlfriends” were Golden Brooks, Tracee Ellis Ross and Jill Marie Jones who left the show before the last season. “Duas Caras” featured Sheron Menezes, Cris Vianna, Juliana Alves and Adriana Alves.

One Response to “Black women on television/Mulheres negras na televisão”

My knowledge of Brazilian soaps is very limited. I lived a year in El Salvador and watched sometimes El Clon (which is not free of racial prejudice). I was surprised to see that virutally all characters were played by pure white people, i.e. people who look like North Europeans rather than Mediterraneans. Even when they represented Morrocon immigrants.Anyway, are there any 'black soaps' in Brazil such as you have them in the US? Seems to me that Duas Caras is such one. Is this a recent phenomenon or 'old' as The Cosby Show?